The project includes upgrading and paving seven existing parking lots on the Arizona and Nevada sides of the dam to provide improved accessibility, safety, and security for the visiting public and Hoover Dam employees. Additionally, a frequently used remote bus parking area will be paved, and a new helipad near the Hoover Dam warehouse will be constructed.

"Additional accessible parking spaces, widened sidewalks, and supplementary bus parking will benefit the general public, employees, and commercial bus operators," said Hoover Dam Facility Manager Pete DiDonato. "This is just a small part of the many improvements we're making at the site that will enhance the experiences of all who visit and work here."

The contract also covers improvements on a short section of the Historic Railroad Trail that extends from the National Park Service's Alan Bible Visitor Center to the Hoover Dam parking garage. The project will reduce the existing grade from 10 percent to 5 percent to meet accessibility requirements, and make it more enjoyable to hikers and bicyclists.

The funding for the work is provided through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA), a program that allows the federal government to sell federal lands in Clark County, Nevada, and use the revenues, among other activities, to fund capital improvements on federally managed recreation areas in southern Nevada.

This contract is part of a long-term $4.6 million improvement project at Hoover Dam. With SNPLMA funding, the public road to the Hoover Dam Police building was upgraded and paved in 2009; the road to the commercial rafting and canoe/kayak launch site on the Colorado River below Hoover Dam will be repaired and paved in 2011; and improvements will be made to the Visitor Parking Garage in 2011.